In Dreams, We Never Die
by Hideki Ayano
Summary: After the events of DmC: Devil May Cry, Dante promises to be mankind's protector against the demons who seek to oppress them. However, the sudden appearance of a demon claiming to be Lilith's sister just might catch everyone tangled in a web of nightmares, memories and lies. Features a new "Limbo", backstories of Mundus and Lilith, a new struggle, new enemies and perhaps an ally
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** _This story is intended to begin after first DmC game had concluded. Only the current available canon information was used in creating this story. This means that any information in this story may be subject to change when a sequel or other similar DmC-related media is released. Also, any reviews are welcome. Thank you very much for taking your time to read._

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**Chapter 1 ****–**

"No! No! Stay away from me! Someone, please! Help!" A girl was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Hearing the cry for help, a black-haired young man stood up and left a few bills at the coffee table where he had been waiting for an acquaintance more than half an hour ago. It already had been three cups of strong black coffee; and right now, he was raring for action or at least something to do rather than just lazing around at a coffee shop and idly waiting for something to happen.

Besides, he recognized that voice. It was Kat's.

After the fall of Mundus, Limbo City had turned into a prosperous and bustling metropolitan city ruled by the humans who were recently freed from demonic control; however, there had been a price to pay after the immortal Demon King had perished. Demons were now stuck in the human world after their supreme ruler had been destroyed and along with him was the return portal back to Limbo.

It was no surprise that the remaining trapped demons had given Dante a whole year of false security after he had destroyed the last large group of demons who had sought to reclaim the city as their own territory once more. This time, unfortunately, they were after something even more precious to him than protecting the city: Kat.

"No! No! Get back! I'm warning you!" The cries started to sound desperate. He had to hurry. He cannot just let her die. After all that they had worked so hard on. No, he would not let all of it go to waste.

"Stay strong, Kat. I'm on my way," Dante muttered to himself, hoping that she would indeed just had to hang on for a few more minutes until he arrived.

As Dante ran past several buildings and traversing through several blocks, a terrible thought crossed his mind: Kat might not be in Limbo City but in the twisted Limbo version of the city itself. He had already went through more than a significant portion of the city and Kat's voice sounded so ever close at where he stood right now – just outside a convenience store beside a streetlight.

But that was impossible. An ordinary human could not enter or even be inside Limbo unless dead. Moreover, just what kind of demon could be just as powerful as Mundus to be able to reconstruct and bring back Limbo as well as use its powers again.

This was no longer an ordinary run-of-the-mill renegade demon Dante was about to face. While he had faced similar adversaries in the past, he could not afford to make mistakes on this one. Kat's life was at stake and if anything happens to her, who knows what would follow.

Just then, the streetlight had somehow managed to twist itself and nearly smashed its metal pole into Dante. Rolling aside as the streetlight then slammed itself onto the spot where Dante had previously been standing, he noticed that he was no longer in Limbo City right now. He was now back in Limbo.

And strangely, it seemed to have had an overhaul on its appearance. Every skyscraper, alley and street had turned into dull shades of grey and dark blue. Anything made of metal such as the traffic lights, street lamps and even the cars were consumed by rust. Cracks lined the walls of buildings and the streets while walls of thorny vines erupted from the bigger fissures which sprouted in the intersections and the alleys.

"No! Don't!" It was Kat again. This time, he could hear her voice clearly. Just as if he was right directly in front her.

Turning around, he saw four porcelain-skinned women around Kat, levitating a number of red swords in a circular formation right above her head. Cackling maniacally, each of them pointed a finger at the girl, hurling various insults and demeaning remarks. Kat was down on the ground, covering herself with her arms in an attempt to protect herself, as the women continuously sent a sword flying right towards her and almost dealing a fatal blow only to stop short and returning it back to its place.

"Get away from her, you fucking Witches!" Dante charged right in, materializing Osiris in his hands and swinging it with great force that it sent a shockwave rippling right toward the demons.

However, they merely snorted out in laughter as a huge white barrier of energy appeared in front of them, dispersing the shockwave. Stunned as the same energy barrier also managed to block his strike with even shattering, Dante jumped back, trying to maintain a safe distance and wondering what kind of demons they were.

"Not the type you were expecting, huh, hotshot?" A female voice resonated throughout the area. A playful but mocking one. The way she taunted Dante with such a tone had sent Kat shaking all over as she continued to

"Who are you? And let go of Kat!" Dante looked around searching for whose voice that was and, upon seeing no one else who could have said that, yelled back in fury. "I'm the one you're after! Not her!"

"You? Ahahahaha, I'm flattered. But, no, thanks. Offer rejected. Or rather, request denied!" Her shrill laughter that seemed to send shivers through the air greatly irritated Dante all the more.

Gritting his teeth, he gripped on Osiris's handle harder as he looked on at the four demons that had surrounded Kat, his anger burning in his eyes and his hair slowly starting to shift to a burning white.

"Love my Hags, don't you? They're much more durable and beautiful and formidable than the silvery-skinned witches with black splotches of corruption who were here before, aren't they?" The voice casually remarked at the demons whom Dante was looking at with intense fury. "Marvelous ladies, aren't they? A pure embodiment of existence that neither contains purity nor perversion. Tell me they're pretty, will you?"

Ignoring her question, Dante clenched his mouth and muttered angrily under his breath. "Let. Her. Go!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. After all, what's the fun going to be if I can't have it with her?" Malicious glee coated every word that she spoke. "Besides, wasn't that the reason you killed my dear sister for? Poor soul she was at that, thought the Demon King would've given her everything that she had wanted. Like your pet human, I suppose."

"She's not a pet. And… did you just say 'sister'?" Dante repeated in disbelief. "Lilith is your…" His voice trailed off as he realized that he may as well be talking to a powerful demon just like the female Demon Lord. Or maybe even more powerful as this one could tap through the broken energies that remained of Limbo after it was destroyed and brought it back together.

"My older sister. A demon that was in the world before it even began. She used to be so powerful that she gave birth to legions of incredibly wonderful and beautiful demon spawn. She could bend time and space, destroy and recreate the laws of nature, and even enslave masses of humans. Oh, it was wonderful… only if it stayed like that you probably would have been destroyed before your mother and father even birthed you. It had been a mistake for her to cling to that lowly ambitious demon whom she had given more than just a fraction of her power so they could rule together."

"Mundus?"

"Shut up! Don't you dare say his name in my presence! The traitor used my sister's own power to turn himself and only himself an immortal. Then, he tried to get rid of the more ancient demons who wouldn't dare obey him. My sister couldn't even go against him in her now virtually-powerless state. So that marked the permanent exile of me and several other ancient demons. With nowhere else to go, we retreated to the darkest depths of Hell while that idiot…" She paused and let out an infuriated high-pitched shriek that stunned everyone to silence – even the Hags who were previously preoccupied with taunting Kat.

Regaining her composure, she then continued on this time more calmly, "That idiot… he made himself a pocket dimension that hid in the human community you know as 'Limbo City'. Technically enslaving the demon who was once the Endless Night Mistress of the Shadows, he massacred the rest of the demon population who wouldn't serve his purposes. And there perished many of those who were truly gifted in the arts he could not even fathom. A ruler, he was not… just a filthy old rat in a human guise. A shame Sparda didn't kill him for good when he had the chance!"

"Sparda? You know my father?"

The voice chuckled menacingly. "Oh but that's enough chitchat. As one of the few Nephilim left, you sure seem lost and without any direction. But don't worry. I'll set things right. What your parents couldn't give you… I shall provide. Now then, that worm has to go. Say your final words to her and bid her a pleasant arrival to the afterlife."

Before Dante could even react, Kat had spontaneously burst into purple flames. The Hags simply laughed hysterically as each one of them launched a sword at the Nephilim to stop him from reaching Kat in time.

"Nooooooo!" Dante screamed, dodging every sword with remarkable precision and parrying those that he could not. "Kat!" As every second slowly ticked away, he was losing precious time from deflecting the demons' attacks which he had noticed to be on an entirely different level than Mundus's minions.

Soon enough, Kat's bloodcurdling screams filled the air and the smell of burning flesh wafted throughout the area. And as the last sword flew past Dante's head, making a slight scratch on his cheek, he knew he was all but too late. The Hags had already made their escape by enveloping themselves in blue flight and vanishing.

And all that was left were the ashes of Kat.

"No… it can't be..."

* * *

Dante woke up with a start, his heart racing and sweat drenched his forehead.

"Kat," he muttered. Taking deep breaths, he brushed the beads of sweat off his forehead. "Calm down, Dante. It's just a dream. Just a dream."

Getting out of the couch which he had been using as a makeshift bed for the past three days, he went over the sink and washed his face. He looked at himself at the mirror and sighed in relief upon noticing that the nick on his cheek was just a dream..

He was right. It had been just dream.

Now if only it would just stay as a dream. Little did he know that the real nightmare had only just begun.


	2. Chapter 2

******Author's Note:** _So I was saving to upload two chapters at once in order to clear up any confusion from the last one... and to avoid any possible misgivings the first one may have given you. Expect OC characters to be minor/supporting ones. And do leave reviews if possible since there may be a little bit of OOC-ness or continuity issues._

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**Chapter 2 –**

"I know this is going to sound ridiculous but I had the weirdest out-of-this-world dream last night. You're probably not going to believe me when I say it but…" Dante was about to tell Kat about the dream last night before getting cut off.

"So you had it too, huh?" She did not seem surprised at all. Or at least she was trying so hard to conceal that it fooled even him.

The girl then walked over to an empty pizza box on the floor of Dante's room and picked it up. Eyeing the remains of what supposedly was Dante's dinner last night, she quickly closed it and tossed it in the nearest trashcan. "Geez, when will you ever try to get a decent meal? Pizza for dinner every day ISN'T a good diet."

"Soon," Dante mumbled under his breath, looking away. He knew Kat was right about his eating habits but it annoyed him that she always had to say things like that. Moreover, this was not really the perfect time to deal with such matters. Especially when both of them had the same nightmare from last night. "Anyway, back to last night, you?"

"I had it too. Surrounded by improved Witches and you eventually came there to help me. Then, Lilith's sister… or someone claiming to be her sister started talking. She talked about Mundus and Lilith and a bit of your father too. Then, I seemingly burned to death… which was about the time when I woke up. Isn't that right?"

"Yes but aren't you…?" Dante was cut off once again by Kat.

"Scared? Pretty much. And because we both had the same dream and the fact that it felt too real…" She then placed her hands on her arms and shivered. "I woke up with my entire body feeling like it was being roasted alive. I doubt it's just a coincidence."

"Wait, don't tell me that it's not just a nightmare."

"If anything, it's not just a nightmare. Probably a warning. I may not be an expert on this. But I do know that demons can do anything. And this obviously doesn't feel right. Still, we don't know for sure who we're dealing with. Whoever she is though, her power seemed to stretch into the real world or at least she has a tool through which her power operates in here."

"Lilith's sister or an impostor."

"Well, Lilith's name has been on a lot of texts that dated back from the Dark Ages. It's no surprise that the demon who clung onto Mundus was an ancient one. However, what she claims she is turns out to be the truth, then that means…"

"Actually, if she is who she says she is, then somewhere down the road we must've forgotten that there are other demons more dangerous than Mundus."

"Then again, we had to deal with Mundus first because he's the technically 'nearest' problem. Limbo City under control of demons, not good," Kat answered, reminding him of what had transpired a year ago. "Besides, if you were to go up against this one back then, I can't imagine what would happen. If she could improve Mundus's Witches to something you can barely handle even with your experience right now, I don't really think choosing her over Mundus as your first big bad enemy would be a good idea."

Dante knew Kat was right. If he had gone after any demon lord other than Mundus first, he might have ended up dead. After all, he knew that without the help of Kat and Vergil as well as Phineas he would not have won the fight against the former ruler of Limbo.

Seeing the worry on Dante's face, Kat then told him in the most reassuring manner that she could muster, "Listen, I'll try to contact some of the people who had ties with The Order but not active participants of it. I'll let you know what we've come up with. I mean, if she really is related to Lilith, we'll most likely have a good chunk of information about her. And it's just all stocked up in one of The Order's computer databases. I'm sure we've got a back-up of that much information stowed away somewhere safe. In the meantime… you should really try to get this place straightened out and get some good food to eat."

Without much ado, the girl gently shut the door behind her as she left Dante pondering about his current situation. He sat down on the midnight blue suede couch in front of his bed whose sheets were still fairly rumpled and the pillows in a state of disarray.

As he switched the television on, the dreary and almost monotonous voice of the newscaster talking about the stock exchange and price rollbacks among other things that remotely even interested him in the background. While the voice in many instances was annoyingly grating to his own ears, he thought of his brother Vergil who would have probably been just as interested in these trivial matters as any normal human might be. Probably because he had been brought up with them for his whole life, pampered and taken good care of. Unlike him who had suffered under the hands of demons masquerading as humans.

However, he had not seen his own twin brother since the day he had walked into a portal after they had just defeated Mundus and fought each other over the protection of mankind. After Vergil's disappearance and The Order's destruction, anyone who had connections or even the most minute contact with the organization lay down low until everything seemed peaceful enough before going on to live on a normal life devoid of anything to do with demons, leaving behind their past life as someone who was involved with Vergil, Kat and, most importantly, The Order.

Still, according to Kat, there were some of those people continued to be up-to-date with happenings that concerned any demons in the city, fulfilling any and all obligations to The Order. While it seemed farfetched for any back-up files of The Order to surface anytime soon, Dante can only hope. But knowing his brother…

A slight tinge of bitterness made a quick jab at Dante's heart.

Once or twice, he had thought about not antagonizing Vergil on that crucial moment. After all, they were brothers and no matter what happened they were still family. Then again, he also did not want to turn humanity into puppets again just after they were freed from Mundus's control.

It was a confusing conflict at best.

"Damned if I did and twice as damned if I didn't," Dante thought to himself as he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to a light afternoon sleep.

* * *

"He's up at the second floor. The room at the end of the left corridor. Why is that?" a stocky red-haired woman said as she dusted her hands on her apron. Judging from her flour-coated hands and the smell of cinnamon on her clothes, she had been cooking up a rather disastrous piece of pastry or whatever confectionery she had on her mind before she heard someone come up to the reception area asking for help.

The unknown stranger's high-heeled shoes clicked rather loudly as the older woman looked on in awe at the former approaching her. "I'm really sorry for interrupting your little baking session, Miss Victoria. But I have a gift for one of your rather handsome tenants."

Quickly shaking herself out of the amazement she had for the visitor's unusual attire of a long black gown adorned with numerous glittering beads in the shape of diamonds while a purple silk sash found its place wrapped around the waist flowing behind her, Miss Victoria managed to give off a hearty chuckle. "Is that so? Which one? I have twenty other occupants here in the building and fifteen of them are male. I am rather clueless as to who you're referring to."

She simply smiled and said, "The black-haired one with a lean but well-muscled build. A tattoo on his back and he is… well… a rather attractive bad boy."

"Aha! I know who that is!" Miss Victoria exclaimed gleefully. "Well, it must be quite interesting of you to be acquainted with Dante. And it seems to me that he hit the jackpot on such a lovely-looking woman."

"My, my! Why, thank you but I'm not that overly beautiful as you think I am." The woman's cheeks became flushed with a faint shade of red as she tried to shrug off the compliment that somehow embarrassed her.

"Why nonsense, my dear! Just look at you. Why you look like the lone bright star in a moonless sky!" Miss Victoria insisted with utmost sincerity at her praise for how her visitor looked. "Just look at you! It's like you were born to be the embodiment of perfection. Sleek blonde hair and a body that's neither too plump nor too bony. A form that allows you to wear any dress and look absolutely breathtaking. And can I just add that your fashion sense although unorthodox is quite appealing?"

"Oh, would you look at the time! I think I've chosen a bad time to meet up with dear Dante." She pouted upon seeing the clock that hung above the doorway into the lobby. "I have an appointment to get to. Can you give this to him?" She handed an eerie hand-shaped crystalline figure affixed on a black marble stand. It had an unearthly shimmer to it and it even gave off a momentary flash of bright light upon being handed over to Miss Victoria.

"This?... It looks marvelous. What is it?" the woman exclaimed as she gazed at the peculiar but fascinating object, the color scheme seemingly captivating her.

"Oh, just a little gift to brighten up his new apartment room. After all, his work gets a little too stressful for comfort sometimes."

"Work? He never told me he was working when we talked about the terms and conditions of his boarding here. And that was just a month ago."

"Oh, really? He's a really secretive little devil. Don't worry. Just keep it a secret. He doesn't like people knowing he works as a barista in The Angels of The Night."

"The new nightclub? Wow! He's so lucky. I hear that's where all the high-status people like politicians and celebrities gather!"

The female stranger smirked before looking at the clock once more and sighed sadly. "Well, I would love to stay and chat and probably even drop a word for Dante but I really can't. A party awaits me. Farewell, Miss Victoria. Have the most pleasant evening!"

Just as the unknown visitor mysteriously appeared, she quickly turned for the exit, her purple silk sash around her waist trailing behind her. It was as if she was merely floating as she walked out of the lobby because of how fluid and surreal her movements were. As soon as she went past the door, the clicking of her high-heeled shoes came to an abrupt stop.

"Ummm… Miss?"

Quite alarmed by the sudden silence, Miss Victoria ran out after her but could find no trace of her upon reaching outside. "How odd… and how'd she even know my name?" she wondered to herself, both puzzled and intrigued by the stranger.


End file.
